Tag Archives: host families

During our first few days in Madrid, we learned about the difference between personal space in Spain and the Unites States. We witnessed our peer mentors kiss and touch in ways that most Americans would consider intimate. To acclimate, throughout orientation we tested our boundaries by approaching each other and having what we would call […]

MARISA CAPONI- I had been counting down the days until my (real) Mom arrived yesterday to spend a long weekend here in Madrid. There was some talk over the summer about her visiting, but expensive plane tickets and her job teaching autistic children yielded some doubt as to if this would really be a possibility. […]

CHRISTINE MAKUWA- Our first essay for En boca de mujer was due today, so I have spent the last few days/hours reflecting on the different spaces that women fight to occupy in society and history. More specifically, I’ve been thinking about Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own,” and the necessity for women to have […]

CASSIDY OLSEN- On occasion, I’ll be speaking to my friends in Madrid or Skyping with my boyfriend back in the States and find myself referring to Manuela, my host mother in Madrid, as “my mom.” “Oh, my mom loves this show,” I’ll say. “My mom painted all the artwork in my house. My mom’s a […]

GABRIEL CANO- I’ve been living in Madrid for a little over a month now with a lovely family of 5, which includes my Mamá Carmen, Papá Jaime, brothers Pablo and Santi (20 and 26 years old), and sister Icíar (23 years old). While there was certainly a transition period during the beginning of my Spanish […]